Here’s a Noosa event looking to outlast the viral threat

LAST year this celebration of Noosa's artistic talent helped pump $1 million into the local economy so news that this is one regional drawcard determined to push on through the insrtaitny of coronavirus is more than timely.

Noosa Open Studios president Trevor Purvis said he was “very happy to announce the Noosa Open Studios committee has unanimously decided that the 2020 Noosa Open Studios Art Trail will go ahead this year”.

“But, in order to further minimise any potential health risks to visitors and artists alike, the ten-day event will be postponed until the first weekend of October,” he said.

“We, the artists of Noosa Shire now have a realistic end goal, a light at the end of a tunnel to aim for. We all need an opportunity to show our work to the visitors that will flood the shire once this health emergency is hopefully over,” Mr Purvis said.

He said in the unlikely event that this pandemic is still restricting our movement to studios forcing the cancellation, each artist will have their membership fees rolled over into the 2021 event.

Mr Purvis said in 2019 this event had about 80 artist studios and galleries open for visits resulting in an unprecedented interest in the Noosa art scene from southeast Queensland and interstate.

He said after five years of operation Noosa Open Studios saw about a 30 per cent growth in visitors year on year.